Suddenly I See
by QueenRose44
Summary: Natasha had never really noticed Steve. He was Captain America, her co-worker and the natural leader of her team. Suddenly she notices him and things between them will never be the same.
1. Chapter 1

**I don't really know where I'm going with this story yet. It sort of depends on the response I get. I would like to thank my awesome beta CardiffDoll. She's basically the person who gotten me into Steve/Natasha with her two stories. I would definitely recommend that you check them out. I hope you enjoy reading my story.**

Steve Rogers sat alone in his small apartment as he ate dinner. Normally he was used to the silence but tonight he was feeling especially lonely. His small apartment was neat yet barren because he still hadn't gotten used to the changes that had occurred in the last seventy years. This wasn't exactly how he pictured his future. For one he didn't belong in this decade. He had pictured a wife and kids at home in a cookie cutter house in the 1940's and 1950's, but he knew that what he pictured back then had to be left in the past. He doubted he would ever get married. How was he supposed to relate to any of the girls in this day and age? They weren't into the same things as him and he wouldn't be able to relate to them. The guys had taken him out one night and all the girls he met were awful. The girls were loud, obnoxious and their promiscuous behavior disgusted him. One girl, that had been giggling with her group of friends came up to him and asked him if she could take ride. Thinking she meant a riding his motorcycle he agreed, until Tony took him aside and explained to him what she really meant. Not only that even if he found someone he liked he would have to keep his past a secret. He hated the fact that he had to lie even to his future significant other. Besides he had left his soul mate in the past. His only love was now long gone. It hurt to think about Peggy and the very last conversation they had before his fighter plane crashed into the ocean and freezing him solid for seventy years. Steve stared down at his plate of congealed pasta and tomato sauce he had attempted to make for himself. Living without someone to take care of him had been especially tough. He had never learned to cook because back then that was the women's job. While he was glad that women were no longer expected to be in the kitchen, he wasn't used to cooking for himself.

Picking at the overcooked pasta with his fork he finally gave up and tossing his dinner in the garbage and placing his plate in the sink; he really didn't know why he even bothered cooking. Before he left to find something edible he took his jacket with him because he was expecting a cold evening. He walked to a burger joint that was across the street from his apartment. Steve lived near a wide variety of restaurants but he usually played it safe and only ate what he was used to. Tonight he wasn't feeling very adventurous and burgers would be perfect. Ordering his food, he waited quietly until it was ready, at which point he sat down to eat.

* * *

Natasha collapsed onto her couch in exhaustion. She had just had to fight an armful of security guards to arrest a former SHIELD employee who was distributing top secret information. She loved her job but sometimes the physical aspects of it were demanding and at the end of the day she was usually exhausted. Natasha closed her eyes and wanted to fall asleep right then and there. She was too tired to care whether or not she was fully clothed and wearing shoes. It was 9:00 and she was starving yet her exhausted body simply wanted to remain on the couch. Her hunger got her attention and she opened her eyes as she thought about her options. She knew at this point there was no way was going to cook anything, so next best option was to order pizza. When she called the pizzeria the woman on the other line informed Natasha that it would take at least half an hour to deliver her pizza to her. Natasha decided the wait was too long and she thought about her options. She could drive down to a local Chinese food restaurant, eat and be back in half an hour. Since she was already dressed she decided to just make the trek down to the Chinese restaurant.

When she arrived outside the restaurant the delicious smell of the food seduced her sense and she hurried inside. The bell on the door chimed to indicate that there was a new customer and a man quickly went up to her and lead her to her table. Since she was a regular she didn't even look at the menu as she ordered egg rolls and sweet and sour shrimp. She wanted her food to come out here as fast as possible and she certainly didn't have time to try new things. The last time she had eaten was at lunch and now it was almost 9:30 in the evening. Natasha was starving and when her egg rolls came out she felt like she was in heaven. Dipping her egg roll in some sauce that came with her dish she bit into its crispy exterior. By the time she was done with her egg rolls (which wasn't very long), she saw the waiter heading her way with her plate of steamed rice with sweet and sour shrimp. By the time Natasha had finished paying for dinner it was well past 10:00 and it was time for her to head home. She walked out of the restaurant on to the dimly lit street when she thought she saw someone familiar in the corner. A brawny man with neat hair in a leather jacket was leaving a burger joint with a bag of food.

She walked up to him as he was looking for his keys to his motorcycle in the inside of his leather jacket's pocket. "Hello Steve, what brings you here?

"Hello Natasha." Steve looked slightly puzzled. "I didn't know you lived around here." He didn't think anyone he knew lived around here. The only reason he was living here was because he had declined Tony Stark's offer of living in the Avengers Tower. He usually enjoyed being alone but tonight he was feeling lonesome and Natasha's presence was most welcome.

"Yeah I live five minutes away by car. I just came down here for dinner," she replied. "What, so you live here? I thought you were going to live at the Avengers Tower?"

"I was but Tony and I have our differences and I sort of don't really feel like I'm in sync with the rest of the team." Steve respected Tony as a teammate but sometimes his jeers about Steve's past were too much. He didn't think he could last one day living under Tony's roof, no matter how many floors they gave him.

"I'm sorry." Natasha could see that Steve felt out of place and she felt partially at fault. She hadn't exactly helped; she remembered seeing Steve by himself on a couple of occasions. She had always assumed he enjoyed being alone. They were both silent for a moment and Natasha tried to find something to say. "Why don't we find somewhere to talk?" Natasha rarely talked to Steve, unless it was something Avengers related. They worked well with each other but only spoke to each other when they had to. She had never really paid any attention to Steve because she had always felt they had little in common.

"Where do you want to go?" He had definitely noticed that Natasha spent more time with the other guys than him. The other guys could all talk to her with ease, but Steve wasn't so lucky. He had always trouble conjuring up the strength to talk to women and not make a fool out of himself. After his body's transformation women began noticing and he was faced with talking to them. Most of the time women were too mesmerized with his appearance to care or even notice that he was making a complete fool out of himself.

Natasha bit her lip as she thought about an appropriate place to go for them to talk. His or her apartments were definitely out. She didn't want to give Steve the wrong idea or anything. Besides they just wanted to talk any casual place would work. She spotted a park that was well lit by street lights. "How about we just talk a walk in that small park? Maybe we'll find a bench."

"That would be fine." He prayed that tonight he wouldn't embarrass himself in front of Natasha. Natasha would probably notice if he said something stupid because she wasn't the type to only pay attention to his appearance. She was a spy after all and nothing missed her attention.

This was Natasha's chance to really get to know Steve so that they could become better friends. She had always felt distant from Steve and their occasional conversations were always "work" related. She wanted them to become more than co-workers.

While they walked over to the park they were both silent. The air was cold and crisp; the sound of the wind rustling some leaves was the only sound they heard. They weren't so sure what to talk about or how to start off exactly. They were silent while they walked over to a small park bench. Both of them were trying to think of something to say to get the conversation started. They sat down on the park bench and their eyes met. For some reason Natasha couldn't make herself look away even though she knew it was making Steve a little uncomfortable. These types of awkward situations were what made Steve stumble over his words and make a fool out of himself**. **Natasha smiled a little when she saw Steve flush red as he looked away. During the short time they had spent together Natasha had never really paid any attention to Steve; he was the brawny man with a plan. She had always known he was attractive but it wasn't until now she really noticed him.

"Do I make you uncomfortable?" Natasha asked. She already knew the answer but she really didn't know what else to say to start the conversation. She had a couple of questions she really wanted to ask that would help them get more familiar.

"No, it's just that I'm not very good at talking to beautiful women." Steve looked more embarrassed than ever. He cursed the street light that was near their bench that made every shade of his face quite visible.

"You don't have to feel uncomfortable around me Steve. We're friends and I want to get to know you better." Natasha had been told by many different men that she was pretty but it felt much more sincere coming from Steve. Like Steve, she had been given a sort of serum to help keep her looking young. They both had been modified by some sort of serum in some way. Their beauty was superficial and neither of them was very flattered when people commented on their physical beauty. Suddenly she started noticing things about Steve that she'd never really paid any attention to maybe because she'd never been up close to him. She started noticing the color of his eyes and the bashful way he smiled when he was embarrassed.

"What do you want to know?" he asked. Natasha had been busy staring at him and she suddenly remembered she had wanted to ask him a couple things. She wasn't used to being this careless; it must be because of the rough day at SHIELD she thought.

"You don't mind if I'm direct or I ask about details from your past or anything?" She had to admit she was curious about Steve and his past.

He took a deep breath, "I don't mind just as long as we both have the same definition of direct."

Natasha frowned a little, "What do you mean by that?"

Steve looked embarrassed, "Well Tony said the same thing and then he asked me a question about..." Steve stopped talking. There was no way he could even tell Natasha what Tony had asked him.

"No need to tell me. I'm going to guess it's something only Tony would ask or even think up for that matter." Natasha felt sorry for poor Steve. Natasha wondered what Tony could have possibly come up with to make Steve look so embarrassed at the mere thought.

Steve laughed wearily, "Yeah Tony, he sure is some character."

"He can be a bit of an ass but you'll get used to him. He always likes to be the center of attention. When I was assigned to spy on him as "Natalie Rushmore" his new personal assistant, he kept trying to find ways to impress me. From my experience Tony singles out a person for his insults when he's jealous of them. He's probably jealous that his father liked you better than him." Steve was surprised about learning that she once worked for Tony as his assistant on a mission and right when he was about to ask her about it, Natasha yawned tiredly. It was now almost eleven and her exhaustion was becoming more and more apparent.

"You look tired. Do you want to start heading back?" Steve asked. "I can walk you back to your car," he said automatically. Even though he knew she would be fine walking in the dark to her car he felt like it was the right thing for him to offer.

"It is getting pretty late. I haven't forgotten about all my questions, and we really should meet up some time to talk and get to know each other better." Steve might have been able to avoid her questions tonight but she was determined to get to know him better. If this was a mission for SHIELD then Steve would be her new target and person of interest.

"How about tomorrow at 6? We could go to that coffee shop over there." He pointed to a coffee shop across the street. The coffee shop was run down yet very cozy. It had several comfortable chairs that would be perfect for drinking coffee and having a conversation.

"I'll see you then," she replied. Steve walked Natasha to her car and they said their goodnights. While she drove home and made a mental note to write down everything she wanted to ask Steve just in case she forgot. Much to her surprise and to her concern Steve was really growing on her. Who knew, she might just have a crush on Captain America.

** Please review! **I** would really appreciate it if you reviewed and told what you think! Let me know if I made any errors. Thanks for reading.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2! Thanks for reading my story.**

The very next day Natasha met up with Steve at the local coffee shop at 6. Inside the coffee shop it was slightly crowded and the music that was playing was being was the type you would hear in an elevator. The atmosphere was relaxing, and they doubted they would be overheard. Natasha and Steve got in line to place their drink orders. Steve ordered a cup of plain coffee, nothing fancy. On the other hand Natasha ordered tea. When they both got their drinks they found a nice quiet corner with two big red chairs facing each other and a small table in between the two chairs. They sat down and once again no one knew what to say. Steve shifted a little in his seat and Natasha decided she needed to get the conversation going.

"I don't really like drinking coffee," remarked Natasha as she took a sip of her tea. This awkward silence was getting ridiculous; they were friends for goodness sake they should be able to handle small talk.

"Then why did you agree to go to a coffee shop?" he asked. While the coffee shop had comfortable chairs and a great atmosphere they could have easily found a tea house to go to. Steve loved coffee but he felt kind of bad for bringing Natasha here especially if she wasn't a coffee fan.

Natasha shrugged "I like the smell of freshly brewed coffee." They sipped their tea in silence; all of the sudden Natasha came up with a question she wanted to ask him, "Do you miss your old life?"

This took Steve by surprise and he thought about it for a second before responding. "There are some things that I'll always miss about back then but not all the changes are bad. To answer your question: I do miss my old life. I don't exactly fit in here but I'm glad that people are more accepting of each other. I miss my old friends and everything, of course - but there's not much I can really do. I have to try and be positive." He said all of this really quickly, and it sounded as if he had wanted to say this for a while. It felt good for him to have someone to confide in and get all this weight off his chest. Being positive was much easier said than done and he found himself wishing he could build a time machine to go back in time. There were days when he wished he had never done the super solider experiment and that he had just stayed his scrawny self. Sure he didn't exactly fit in all that well as that scrawny kid but at least he belonged to his decade. He didn't belong here and he often felt like an alien that had just arrived on the planet.

"It must have been hard for you to adjust to 70 years of change." Natasha could not imagine what it must have felt like to wake up and realize that everyone you knew was probably dead. The culture shock must have been hard enough to deal with. Adjusting to that much change could take a toll on anyone.

Steve shook his head, "You have no idea. I mean the girls in this decade act so differently than the girls I knew in the 1940's." He could list more than a hundred ways women back then were different. The way they dressed, talked, acting around guys, dating rituals and age of marriage were a couple major ones he noticed right away. Back then people got married in their early twenties today that number was creeping up to mid-thirties. The way women dressed today often caused Steve a great deal of embarrassment. To put it plainly he wasn't used to seeing so much skin on display and he often didn't know where to look. The guys (mostly Tony) often made fun of Steve because of this and went out of their way to make him uncomfortable.

Natasha laughed, "I heard that story about the time the guys took you out and that girl came up to you." Tony had taken it upon himself to tell her everything in vivid details. She had to admit it was refreshing to see a guy who was so respectful and inexperienced when it came to women.

Steve's face was suddenly very red and he had a look of horror on his face. "He didn't." Thinking that Tony would keep things quiet was a mistake. While Steve hated being the joke of everything he wasn't going to give up the morals he was raised with just for the sake of fitting in. There were days when Steve wanted to slug Tony in the jaw and other days he was glad they were a team.

"Tony told me everything. Don't worry it's not your fault that girl was being to put it lightly, very forward." Natasha felt bad for Steve, women back in the 1940's behaved very differently than women today; no wonder he was still single.

"I'm going to have a talk with Tony" he growled. "Women back then were a little more –"he paused to think of the proper word, "-classy." Noticing the look on Natasha's face he quickly amended his statement. "What I meant was women had to act classy in public even if they weren't in reality." He wasn't sure if that made sense and he was still thinking about a way he could explain it better. The more he spoke with the Natasha the less nervous he was around her. It wasn't much but at least he could talk to a member of the opposite sex without making a fool of him the entire time.

"I think I get what you mean. Women back then had to keep their virtue and that's no longer required. Not only that they were expected to remain pure until marriage, stay at home and raise kids." Natasha was glad she wasn't born back then she couldn't imagine being a housewife: baking pies and raising kids. She was into martial arts, not sewing and baking. Steve sighed.

"Back in the day that sort of was how I pictured my life to be. Coming home to wife and kids, but now I know that's impossible." He was really glum about the subject of relationships. His soul mate, whether it was Peggy or not, was probably 70 years older than him or dead. All the girls in this decade were girls. He was old enough to be their great-grandfathers. The remarks Tony made about him being old and what not only reminded him of this more. Now when he pictured his future he saw himself as an old bachelor. This bothered Steve a great deal and he still didn't know how to face the fact that he would never find love.

"Come on Steve, I'm sure you'll find someone. Is that why you look kind of depressed?" Even though Natasha had never been frozen for 70 years she could relate to who he was feeling. As a SHIELD spy and agent she had to get used to the fact that she would have trouble forming relationships with people who were outside of her work. Unless she was with someone who knew her area of work she would have to keep basically a huge part of her life a secret - and that could take a toll on a relationship.

"I would be lying if I said it hasn't been on my mind a lot lately." The subject had been on his mind for a while now and he was seeing no closure. There were all sorts of ways singles meet other singles and an idea came to Natasha's head. She was going to suggest that he sign up for a dating site but she came up with a better idea.

"There's going to be a singles event next weekend in Manhattan. Maybe you'll meet someone if you go." It was just what Steve needed to help his spirits. With his good looks and perfect body he was sure to attract some ladies.

After that last experience with the guys Steve wasn't too keen on going out and meeting people. "Were you planning on going?" he asked Natasha. He wouldn't mind if he had Natasha by his side; she wouldn't try to embarrass him, and he would feel more comfortable with someone he knew.

"No, not really, I'm not interested in a relationship right now. I think it would be a good idea for you to meet some lovely ladies." Natasha didn't have a good record when it came to relationships. Early on she learned that balancing her career and relationships was almost impossible. Someone always got hurt.

"I'll only go if you come with me. I can't just go into a room with a bunch of people and make it out alive." While he did want to meet someone, the idea of meeting women by himself frightened him. Natasha's presence would help him relax a little and perhaps he would stumble over his words. Steve liked going into things knowing that someone had his back and Natasha seemed like the perfect candidate. There was no way he was going to ask the guys for help for these kinds of things. Besides Natasha was beautiful, intimidating and alluring if he could talk to her without sounding like an idiot surely he could talk to any other woman he crossed paths with. This was a great accomplishment for Steve but sometimes her charm caused him to forget what he was saying.

Natasha frowned, she did want to help Steve, but when she gave him the idea she hadn't intended for him to extend the invitation out to her. "I don't know Steve…." The last thing she needed was an event designed to bring single men and women together.

"Please! It would help me so much and I would really appreciate it," he said. A relationship would be a great way to jump start his healing process and help him adjust to this new decade. He could really use something to look forward to everyday at this point. Not only would that it prove to the guys that he wasn't miserable and lonely.

His hopeful eyes were watching Natasha and finally she reluctantly agreed. "Fine, I'll go with you. You have to mingle with other people though you can't stay by my side the entire time." Something about that look in Steve's eyes made her say yes even though she wasn't sure yet why. All this time she thought she was the one in the group that could charm and persuade people.

"Don't worry, I won't scare any of the guys away, maybe you'll find someone you like at the event." Steve trusted Natasha and he knew she would be the perfect person to help him find someone. The guys were more interested in making a joke out of him but Natasha wasn't into that type of stuff.

"I'm just going to be a supportive friend. I'm not interested in any of those guys." Even though Natasha wasn't too pleased about going to a singles event she had to admit she was happy that she would get to see Steve again.

"What should I wear?" asked Steve. He had never really gone to an event like this and he had no idea what to expect. Based on

"Probably something you would wear to a cocktail party. Formal but not formal." Natasha noticed the confused look on Steve's face so she elaborated. "Just wear a suit and tie."

Steve still looked uncertain so Natasha suggested he ask the guys for help. The look on his face made it clear that it was the last thing he wanted to do. She knew the guys gave him a hard time but she didn't know anything about men's fashion, which was Tony's department. Unfortunately for Steve, Tony gave him the hardest time out of all the guys.

"Last time I asked them for help they just wanted to make me the joke of everything," he was still feeling bitter about the last time he asked for help.

Natasha gave Steve the information about the time and place. "I'll see you there at 7 next Saturday at the Grand Plaza hotel."

It was getting a little late and Natasha wanted to get home and make something for dinner. Steve thanked Natasha for being so helpful and they both left the coffee shop. When Natasha went home she started to regret her decision of suggesting a singles meeting event and it wasn't just because she would have to accompany Steve to the event.

**Please review! Review are awesome and I read every single one of them. Taking the time to review means a lot. I hope you enjoyed reading chapter 2.**


	3. Chapter 3

The day before the singles event Steve decided to ask his friends for help on what to wear. According to Natasha, it was like a cocktail party and he should wear a suit and tie. After spending an entire hour trying to find something suitable to wear he gave up and went to Avengers Tower.

Steve spotted Bruce and decided he was the best candidate for fashion advice. Bruce was also the kindest out of all the guys.

He walked up to Bruce, "Hey Bruce, I need your help on something." Knowing Steve the help he needed probably didn't have something to do with building a reactor or some other type of science experiment.

Bruce took off his glasses, "What kind of help?"

"Well, I'm going to this event and it's supposed to be a cocktail party sort of thing. I don't exactly know what I should wear to these kinds of things…" He winced, he knew he sounded like a girl asking her best friend for fashion advice but he didn't know how to phrase it any better.

Bruce chuckled, "To be honest with you, I'm not exactly good with fashion. The other day Tony made fun of my purple shirt. I mean, I thought that shirt was ok. I'm sorry I can't be more helpful but if you want some real fashion help you're going to have to ask Tony."

Tony was the last person Steve wanted to ask for help. The last thing he needed was grandpa jokes. "Thanks anyway, Bruce." He did have to admit that Tony probably did know a thing or two about dressing himself.

Tony was sitting in his work room fixing his Iron Man suit. He thought it would be a great idea to add a built in mini fridge in his suit for those long journeys. It turned out that the extra weight caused him to fly lopsided. Much to his disappointment he now had to return the suit back to its original design. When he saw Steve walk in he looked a little annoyed. "What's up old man?" he asked not looking up from his work.

"I wanted to ask you for some help." Steve began to fidget and wonder if he should have just figured what to wear on his own.

Tony smirked, "What can I do for you?" This was a great opportunity for him to make fun of any awkward situation Steve might be in.

"I'm going to this event tomorrow and it's a cocktail party sort of thing. What do guys usually wear to these kinds of things?"

Tony went back to his work, "Just wear a suit and tie." He didn't have time for Steve's nonsense he had a suit to fix and he'd thought Steve wanted help finding a hooker.

That's it? Tony made it seem so simple, surely he had more to say. Steve stood there waiting for him to continue but Tony simply ignored him. Sighing, he left the work room and decided to just go home. Right when he was about to leave Jarvis thanked him for coming. He stopped, "Jarvis, if I had a question could you help me out?" If Jarvis could hack into SHIELD's computers he was sure it could help him out.

"I'm sure I could be of assistance to you, sir. What would you like to know?" Jarvis asked.

"What should a guy wear to a cocktail party?" he asked.

"A black suit with a tie in the color of your choice would be suitable." Jarvis responded almost immediately.

"Thanks, Jarvis." Luckily the only suit Steve owned was black and he was sure he had a tie or two somewhere.

It was two hours before the event and Steve was starting to get very nervous. His normally large appetite had dwindled and he was starting to feel sick to his stomach. What had he gotten himself into? Steve was tempted to call Natasha and cancel the whole thing. It felt ridiculous that he could go to war but be too afraid to meet a couple of women. Captain America was supposed to be brave and now he was feeling like a coward. If he could fight Loki, go to war and perform as the Star Spangled Man he sure as hell could go into a room filled with women.

An hour before the event started he got dressed and he looked at himself for a second in the mirror. He felt a little overdressed and hoped that he wouldn't stand out at the event. This day was very important to Steve and he didn't want to mess it up. He'd been alone for too long and he was in desperate need of affection.

Soon it was time for him to leave, just as he was about to grab his motorcycle keys he stopped for a moment. Surely arriving on his motorcycle would probably draw attention to him and mess up his formal attire. At this point he had no other option unless he wanted to be late, and sure enough he got strange looks on his way to the hotel. Steve was positive he looked ridiculous but he did his best to ignore what everyone else was probably thinking. While he was parking his motorcycle he caught sight of Natasha. She had an amused look on her face as she walked towards him.

"I see you like to arrive in style," she said as her eyebrow rose. Natasha was wearing an elegant but simple black dress that hit right above her knee and black stiletto heels. The only piece of jewelry she was wearing was a small bracelet and a pair of diamond earrings. Steve was too busy staring at her to respond and Natasha cleared her throat.

Blushing, he pretended to adjust his tie as he quickly responded, "I forgot that my motorcycle was my only form of transportation." It wasn't his fault he was staring; she looked beautiful with her dark red hair and black dress.

"Shall we go inside?" Natasha asked. Steve nodded and he followed her inside the glamour hotel.

They followed a stream of dressed- up people to a large ballroom. The ballroom had a beautiful crystal chandelier, white marble floors and several tables off to the side that were covered with an expensive-looking table cloth. The room was filled with men in suits and women in fancy cocktail dresses. Steve no longer felt overdressed but he was by no means comfortable. Although Natasha had advised him against staying with her the entire time, he did just that.

Eventually, Natasha noticed his clinginess. "Steve, you'll never meet anyone if you're with me the entire time." She wanted Steve to be happy and staying by her side the entire evening would do the opposite.

"Do I just walk up to some girls and start talking to them?" he asked, unsure of himself. Talking to the opposite sex always seemed to bring out the worst in him. Steve could march into war without hesitation but talking to women caused him to sweat and stumble over his words.

"You're Captain America for goodness sakes. Even if those girls don't know it, you're obviously at the peak of human perfection. To put it simply: you're gorgeous. You'll do fine, Steve." Even if Steve was the biggest jerk on Earth, his good looks were sure to attract girls.

Steve smiled, "Thanks, I guess I'll go and try talking to that girl by herself over there. She looks lonely… That's a thing we both have in common." The girl Steve was referring to was a brunette wearing a pale blue dress. She looks a little nervous and overwhelmed.

Natasha watched Steve walk off in the direction of the girl. Steve had everything going for him; he was gorgeous, kind, polite and considerate. He was basically almost every girl's dream all wrapped into one. No girl could ever resist his charm.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4! I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

Steve walked over to the brunette in the pale blue silk dress. The first thing he noticed when he saw her was how she was looking at the floor rather timidly. She appeared to be quite nervous and when she saw him approach, her eyes widened.

As he walked up to her, he could feel his heart beating very quickly. 'Here goes nothing.' he thought.

"Hello, my name is Steve. What's your name?" he asked in an attempt to start up some sort of conversation. Walking up to women and starting conversations was not something he did often. The last time he had tried to talk to a woman he liked he nearly puked and that had been years before his transformation. Peggy had once said he "didn't know a bloody thing about women" he hoped that was no longer the case. Surely the brief relationship he had with her taught him something.

"Holly." she responded. Holly continued to stare at him and Steve was feeling very uncomfortable. Maybe Holly wasn't interested in him, he thought - or maybe she was just shy.

"That's a very pretty name. So what brings you to an event like this?" he asked.

Holly looked away embarrassed, "A group of my friends wanted to go and they made me come." It was now apparent that Holly did not want to be here, but Steve was determined to start a meaningful conversation.

"One of my friends brought me here too," he responded. There was an awkward silence and Holly was looking at the ground. His mind quickly raced to find something that would be a conversation starter; he couldn't bring up music, movies, and a large list of other things. Bringing up topics that related to pop culture probably wasn't the best idea. Not understanding references to pop culture always made him feel stupid and when he occasionally did recognize a reference he acted a little too excited. He remembered the time he had embarrassed himself by acting too pleased about understanding Fury's "flying monkeys" reference.

"What's your favorite color?" he blurted out suddenly without thinking.

Holly looked up with surprise, and just as she was about to respond, a girl with dirty blonde appeared by her side.

"Holly, who are you taking to?" she demanded in a loud voice as stumbled towards them. The girl with the dirty blonde hair was wearing a tight, short, and low-cut red dress that showed a little too much.

"My name is Steve. Are you Holly's friend?" He felt a little annoyed; he could barely talk to one girl at a time how was he supposed to talk to both of them. Although he was annoyed the gentleman in him did the best to not let it show.

The girl approached him and Steve could smell the alcohol on her breath, he slowly backed away hoping he wouldn't offend her. The girl didn't seem to notice,"I'm her older sister. My name is Sophia. So what's a great catch like you doing all alone?" Steve shifted uncomfortably as her heavily made up eyes slowly ran over his body. Her eyes paused a couple of times to admire certain parts of his body. Steve felt hot and very uncomfortable, and he felt his face turn red. Sophia obviously liked Steve's body and she didn't exactly try to hide it.

He looked over at Holly who remained silent, "I wasn't alone, and I was talking to your sister." He couldn't believe that two people who were so different could be related. Holly was shy, timid and modest while Sophia was flirty, obnoxious and racy.

Ignoring what he said she continued to question Steve while completely ignoring Holly. Sophia emptied her champagne glass, "So where do you work out handsome? Your nice bod didn't just appear overnight. When did you lose your virginity?" she asked loudly making a woman next to them stare. Steve had a look of horror on his face and he didn't know what to say. Sophia ignored and continued to speak not bothering to lower her voice, "I lost my virginity in the back of a car when I was 15," drawled in her nasally voice as a waiter with a smirk filled up her champagne glass. Wishing she would lower her voice, he cringed as Sophia proceeded to explain but suddenly she grabbed his arm and dragged him off while almost spilling her champagne all over her dress in the process. Holly watched him practically get pulled towards a group of girls with a look of sympathy.

Although Steve was much stronger than Sophia, he didn't want to be rude and pull his hand away. Sophia brought him over to a group of giggling girls. When he saw where she had brought him, he wished he had just torn his hand out of her grip.

"OMG, look what I found! The poor thing was talking to Holly. He is sooooo hot!" she exclaimed to her group of friends.

Steve felt like he was on display as the group of girl circled around him. They were all examining him closely. Where is Natasha? Why wasn't she stopping this madness? Women didn't act like this back then, he thought. His face was hot and he began to sweat. The girls were circling around him like vultures around a helpless animal they were about to eat. He looked over to Natasha wishing she would look his way and come and get him out of this mess, but Natasha looked occupied talking to a young man. She looked like she was enjoying her time. 'Looks like Natasha found someone she liked after all,' he thought.

"Guys! What are you doing?" exclaimed a girl with blonde that had just walked up to the group. She was carrying a drink and she looked a little concerned.

Sophia was the first to respond, "I was just introducing this new guy I found to the girls. Holly was keeping him all to herself."

The girl shook her head and took Steve's hand and led him out of the group. Sophia watched the girl take Steve away with her hands on her hips. "Don't mind my friends - they practically go crazy when they see an attractive guy. I'm Kimberly by the way, what's your name?"

Relief filled Steve; Kimberly did not stare or ask him personal questions. When Kimberly talked to him in her polite voice she didn't stare at his body, but rather into his eyes. "My name is Steve. Steve Rogers. Thanks for saving me back there."

Kimberly smiled, "It was no problem, and my friends do the strangest things." Noticing Steve's red face and the beads of sweat that had gathered on his forehead she handed him the drink she was holding. "Here drink this; you look like you need to catch your breath."

He gratefully accepted the drink, "Thanks for everything." Wishing he could say more he eventually gave up and just drank the drink.

Luckily, Kimberly was outgoing and very good at keeping the conversation going. "So what's a guy like you doing at an event like this? Surely you must have a significant other."

Steve began to relax a little, "You flatter me, and I'm actually single. I've been single for a while now." That would be an understatement; he had never really been in a relationship unless you count the brief thing he had with Peggy. Realizing this, he began to feel ashamed, he'd been single his entire life. Perhaps that was about to change soon.

"Don't worry; I'm sure the right girl will come along eventually. Besides, this is the perfect time and place for you to meet someone."

Steve nodded - was Kimberly interested in him or was he reading too much into her words?

"So do you live around here" he asked. He wanted to get to know Kimberly more; he had a feeling that she could be the girl he'd been waiting for.

"Yes, I live around here now because I'm studying at Columbia. I used to live in Los Angeles, but I moved here for college."

"I live in Brooklyn. So what are you studying at Columbia?" He began to feel more comfortable about the whole singles event thing now that he'd met someone decent. Kimberly wasn't just decent; she was much more. Not only was she smart and polite - she was breath taking. Her long golden blonde hair and violet eyes complemented her beautiful complexion.

"I'm studying Economics," she responded. "What about you?"

"I went to art school for a while but I abandoned that to join the army. I felt selfish for doing what I love when my country was at war. So I enlisted." He felt a little embarrassed about not having gone to college. Although art school had been a great experience and a wonderful opportunity for him to grow as an artist he gave everything up to fight in the war. Sometimes he would wonder what would have happened if he had just remained an art student. He would have never under gone the super solider experiment, never met Peggy, never been frozen for 70 years and he probably wouldn't be alive today. Still he had to admit he had neglected his love for art and perhaps he could re-enter art school. After all he still had a passion for drawing after all these years and he wasn't half bad.

"You must be a really talented artist; I've never been really good at art maybe you can give me a few tips sometime."

Steve blushed a little, "I'm really not that great, but I would love to meet up with you." By the time it was dinner, Steve was in a very good mood. He had arranged a date with Kimberly for the following weekend and he felt like he was on top of the world. Finally, he would be able to have a relationship with someone he could relate to.

**Please review! I love getting feedback. Thanks for reading my story.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5! I hope you enjoy this chapter and my story.**

Natasha watched Steve walk hesitantly towards the girl in the pale blue dress. He approached her timidly and seemed to be talking with her. Watching the girl she noticed that Steve was doing most of the talking which seemed a little strange. After a while of watching Steve she decided to sit down at one of the many tables set up for dinner. While she was sitting at her table she would occasionally glance over at Steve to see how he was doing. When a girl in a tight red dress appeared by his side Natasha almost laughed. The girl was checking him out and Steve was clearly uncomfortable. As she was watching Steve a group of people approached her table.

"Is it ok if we sit here?" asked one of the girls in the group. Natasha nodded and turned back to Steve. She would rather be sitting alone but with her table empty she didn't want Steve to think she was lonley.

"Who are you looking at?" asked a guy sitting next to her much to Natasha's annoyance.

Feeling a little embarrassed and annoyed she turned to look at the guy. "No one, just making sure my friend is ok." She hoped the guy would leave her alone but instead he continued talking to her.

"I'm Michael, what's your name? So what did you think about tonight? I haven't been really able to find anyone I like. What about you?"

Natasha took a good look at Michael; he was tall and lanky with brown hair. "Natasha, I didn't really come here for me, I'm helping my friend Steve out." When Natasha was out in public she became Natalie Rushmore, Tony Stark's personal assistant, a former model and ballet dancer but tonight she didn't think her cover was necessary. Tonight she was just going to be Natasha.

**Please review! I love getting feedback since it helps improve my story. Thanks for reading!**

"Is that your friend Steve?" he asked pointing to Steve.

Natasha turned her attention to Steve only to find him alone with another girl. The girl had golden locks and perfect skin. It looked like Steve had finally found someone he found suitable. Whoever the girl was she looked like the all American blonde hair- blue eyed type she could picture Steve with. Steve had found exactly what he had been looking for. For some reason Natasha was suddenly in a bad mood. Suddenly she remembered she had just been asked a question, Michael was patiently waiting for her answer. "Yes, that's my friend."

"He looks like he's found someone," he stated much to Natasha's annoyance. So it looks like she wasn't the only one who could see how perfect Steve and his little lady friend were for each other she thought bitterly. Natasha didn't respond and pretended to be busy arranging her napkin on her lap. Out of the corner of her eye she watched Steve and the girl walk towards a dinner table. The girl was blushing and Steve was looking even more handsome as his face radiated with happiness.

Michael noticed Natasha looking at Steve again, "Do you think it was a good idea to bring your friend Steve here?" he asked suddenly catching Natasha off guard.

This caught Natasha's attention, "What do you mean?" she demanded. She really needed to stop staring at Steve and the girl he was with. Not only that but she was starting to lose her patience she didn't need people constantly questioning her. So what if she wanted to stare at Steve and the girl all night, it was none of anyone's business.

Michael scratched his head, "I don't know I just have this feeling that there's something going on between you and Steve." He had intended to go deeper into the topic but he stopped when he saw the look on Natasha's face. The look on Natasha's face was murderous and Michael was starting to feel a little afraid.

"There is nothing going on between us," she said slowly in her dangerous voice. Steve was just her friend and the type of girl he was probably interested was someone like the girl he was sitting with now. Now this Michael guy came along meddling in her business and she was getting very annoyed. Michael did not speak to Natasha for the rest of dinner and Natasha was relieved. Scaring the guy hadn't been her intention but if it shut him up it was worth it. Then again scaring people out of their wits was a specialty for the Black Widow.

After a long silence, "So what do you do for a living?" asked Michael during the dessert course in attempt to start talking again. All his friends were occupied and he was getting really bored.

Natasha couldn't believe he was still talking to her but she was relieved he'd abandoned the old subject. "I work for Stark Industries. What about you?" Feeling the lessened tension, Michael immediately took this as a cue to start talking and he began talking on and on.

"I work for an advertisement company. It's a really fun job and I enjoy what I do. We design a lot of posters and ads for different companies and…" Natasha spaced out as Michael continued to speak. Her eyes drifted over to where Steve and the blonde girl were sitting they looked like they were having a great time conversing. She felt jealous of the girl; could she possibly have feelings for Steve? The last time she'd felt this jealous it had been when she found out her ex-husband whom she once loved cheated on her. "Sometimes I feel tired of sitting around all day so I go to the beach. I also love to swim…" he droned on, oblivious to the fact that Natasha wasn't listening to a word he was saying. Natasha couldn't tear her eyes away from Steve, when she saw the girl hand Steve her number she clenched her fists. Unclenching her fists she knew right away that she was starting to regret bringing Steve to this event.

Bored to death she started picking at her dessert she was surprised to see Steve suddenly by her side standing next to her table. "When I was younger I always wanted to be an-" Michael stopped speaking as he looked up at Steve and the blonde girl in surprise. Natasha didn't know what to say so Steve starting talking first.

Steve was glowing, "Natasha, I want you to meet Kimberly. I just met her tonight and she's wonderful." The look on Steve's face said it all; he was practically in love with this girl. Suddenly Natasha hated Kimberly but most of all she hated herself. She had single handled brought them together and now that she realized she might have feelings for Steve it was going to be an issue.

Faking a smile she shook Kimberly's hand. "It's nice to meet you Kimberly. Steve, this is my new friend Michael." She introduced Michael in hopes that Steve wouldn't feel sorry for her and so that she wouldn't feel pathetic. But why should it matter what Steve thinks? she thought to herself. All of the sudden she was starting to feel constantly worried about what Steve thought.

Michael immediately took the opportunity to start speaking, "I've heard so much about you Steve. You're really lucky to have a friend like her." Natasha's eyes widened, what an idiot she thought to herself. She didn't need Steve thinking she was constantly talking to strangers about him behind his back. 'There I go again with the worrying about what Steve thinks again' she thought.

Kimberly smiled sweetly, "You're friend Steve is so the biggest sweetheart. You know it's really hard to find guys like him. Thanks for bringing him to this event without you I would have never met him." Natasha told herself that Kimberly was only being insincere and fake but Natasha had a hard time convincing herself of that. Everything Kimberly's smile to the happiness that shined on her face indicated otherwise.

Smiling weakly she replied, "It was no problem." Even though Kimberly didn't know it her words taunted Natasha. She didn't need Kimberly to point out that it was because of her they found each other. Not only did Natasha regret even telling Steve about the stupid event she regretting coming here with him. Kimberly was everything Natasha wasn't; she was outgoing, kind, gorgeous and most importantly normal. Steve deserved to have someone in his life like Kimberly.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6:**

**I'm sorry it took so long to update. I've been very busy and I don't know when my next update will be. Thanks for being so patient and I hope you enjoy this chapter and my story! **

The night was coming to an end and new couples were walking out the hotel hand in hand. Natasha could not have been happier this awful event was coming to an end. As she walked out of the ball room and into the lobby Michael was following her and attempting to keep her engaged in conversation.

"You know I never thought I'd meet someone as awesome as you at one of these events. We should hang out sometimes," he said enthusiastically. He was painfully oblivious to the fact that Natasha was this close from strangling him.

"Yeah," she responded absent mindedly as she saw Steve and his new girlfriend walk into the lobby. Just as she saw Kimberley stand on her toes to give a kiss on Steve's check she felt a piece of paper go into her hand.

"Here's my number," Michael smiled. "Call me so we can hang out." Crumpling the paper up and stuffing it into the clutch she was carrying she continued to watch Steve. Finally noticing Natasha's preoccupation Michael looked to see what she was watching. "Hey look! It's your friend Steve with that girl Kimberly. Let's go say hi."

Before Natasha could protest Michael started calling out to Steve. "Hey Steve! Kimberly! Hi!" he yelled as he waved to get their attention.

Without thinking Natasha pinched Michael's arm. "OUCH!" he yelped as he recoiled.

"Stop that!" she hissed angrily but it was too late Steve and Kimberly were walking towards them. Much to her dismay she noticed that they were holding hands.

"Hello, Natasha" smiled Steve cheerfully. Although Natasha didn't want to admit it, Kimberly obviously had a profound effect on Steve. The way he carried himself had changed so dramatically that Natasha wondered what Kimberly could have possibly said or done to make him feel so confident. 'If only I could make him feel that happy and good about himself' thought Natasha bitterly.

"Hello," she smiled back feeling the muscles in her face hurt from all the fake and forced smiles she had handed out this evening.

"Thanks again for bringing me here, well good night Natasha. I guess I'll be seeing you at work on Monday"

"Good night, Steve and Kimberly." She watched them walk towards a group of Kimberly's friends. Steve gave a kiss goodbye to Kimberly and he walked towards his motorcycle with a smile on his face.

"Aren't they an adorable couple?"

Turning around Natasha scowled when she saw Michael still standing there. "Good night, Michael," she snapped as she walked away quickly not waiting for his response. Hoping never to see Michael again she headed back to her car and hoped the evening would soon come to an end.

* * *

That Monday Steve walked into the room with an air of confidence. It had seemed his encounter with Kimberly had turned him from a man hollow with loneliness to a whole another man. For once in a long time his teammates began to believe that someday Steve might get over his past and move on into the future.

"So what's got you all peppy?" asked Tony that morning. He had noticed that Steve seemed unusually happy and giddy.

Steve merely smiled and replied, "What are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about. That goofy school boy in love looks. Dare I say it, your shining? Wait. Let me guess, you met a girl." Tony's suspicions were confirmed when Steve blushed scarlet. "You know I'm glad you found a girl. It's just what you needed."

"Thanks Tony, Natasha took me to this event where singles meet up. That's why I asked you for help about what to wear." Steve frowned slightly as he remembered all of Tony's "help" with choosing his outfit for the event.

"Don't tell me that Natasha found herself a beau? Although she kind of looked more pissed off and annoyed than usually so maybe she wasn't as lucky," he chucked looking amused at the thought. Tony began to wonder what type of guy would attract Natasha's attention. While she worked for him as "Natalie Rushman" she had flirted with him at his birthday party and he had though she had feelings for him. Other than that time he had never seen Natasha as the type to be romantic.

Thinking for a second, "Actually there was this guy who never left Natasha's side the entire time. Although something tells me he's more interested in her than she is in him," Steve said.

A few seconds later Natasha walked into the room and Steve went up to her. "Natasha, I cannot thank you enough for coming with me last night. If it weren't for you I'd be all lonely and depressed. Last night I went home and I actually had something to look forward to. I called Kimberly and we're having our first date next Friday."

Wishing Steve would stop thanking for basically kicking herself in the teeth and ruining any chance her having a chance with him she tried not to appear jealous and she put on one her dazzling smiles. She could just picture Steve and Kimberly playing the "You hang up first no you hang up first" game and it made her feel sick. "You're welcome, Steve. What a coincidence I have a date with Michael on Friday too," she said praying that she hadn't thrown out Michael's number. She remembered him giving her his number but she couldn't remember where she put it she had been too busy watching Steve and Kimberly. Natasha made a mental note to look for Michael's number and schedule a date on Friday.

Looking pleasantly surprised, "That's great Natasha! I'm glad we both found such wonderful people. I'm taking Kimberly out to a baseball game for our first date. I can't wait! Where are you going with Michael?"

Thinking quickly, "We're going out to dinner." She didn't want to give too many details especially since she hadn't even set a date with Michael. She didn't care in Michael was busy Friday he was going to cancel his plans and go on a date with her.

**Thanks for reading my story and please take the time to review! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Hello everyone, I am really sorry about the fact that I haven't been able to update for over a month. I've been extremely busy and I had major writer's block. It's been super difficult to get back into the story after a month off. Do you guys want me to continue it? Please let me know and I'll do my best to update more often.**

The last time Steve remembered going to a baseball game he had been six years old and he had been taken as a special treat by the orphanage he used to live in. The orphanage had been given a generous donation and had taken all the children to a baseball game as a treat. Now he was sitting in the stands feeling overdressed at his second baseball game. The air smelled of roasted peanuts and sizzling hot dogs. Feeling ridiculous he regretted wear a collared shirt at the baseball game. Everyone was wearing t-shirts and jeans and he was positive he looked foolish. This was only one of the things he was currently concerned about. Checking his ticket for the third time Steve double checked to make sure he was sitting in the right seat. Kimberly had wanted to go to a baseball game for their first date and the fact that she was 10 minutes late was making Steve extremely nervous. 'Maybe she stood me up? Maybe this is all a dream. Maybe-'

"I'm sorry I'm late I got stuck in traffic," came an alluring voice behind him. Steve turned around was met by a blonde beauty in a baseball cap.

"It's no problem," replied Steve breathlessly relieved that Kimberly had only been late.

Smiling she gave him a quick peck on his checks as she sat down next to him. "Luckily the game hasn't started yet. I was worried that I'd missed the beginning."

Blushing he replied, "You're right on time. Do you want me to buy you some food and drink?"

"That would be wonderful Steve. I'm so lucky I have a gentleman like you," she gushed happily.

Steve got up and went to get her some food and drinks.

Natasha looked down at her clock she was 20 minutes late but to be honest she didn't care. The fact that she was about to go on a date with Michael of all people wasn't something she was exactly looking forward to. Walking up to the hostess to find out where Michael was sitting. The hostess was busy talking on her phone and ignored Natasha.

Even though Natasha wasn't in any rush to get to her date she didn't like being ignored. "Excuse me?" she said with her eyebrow slightly raised to the rude hostess.

The hostess momentarily got off the phone, "I'm on the phone," she yelled.

Taken back Natasha had the urge to take the woman's phone snap her phone in half. Instead she decided to find Michael herself. She spotted him immediately sitting alone looking at his watch. Although she hated to admit she felt kind of bad for being over half an hour late.

"Hi Michael, I am so sorry that I'm late I had a fashion emergency," she began. Michael turned around and he looked both relieved and happy.

"Oh good you're here. I was beginning to think you ditched me or something. One time I had this date with this girl and she stood me up. Anyways I'm glad you're here. Have a seat!" Michael got up and pulled out Natasha's chair for her to sit on.

As she sat down she had to give Michael props for being so patient and not being angry with her for being so late. As she was scanning her menu for something to order Michael began his speech.

"Back to the story about the girl who ditched me. Ok so like I met her at my sister's wedding shower and she was really nice and everything. I thought she was totally into me so I invited her to dinner but she never showed. I was so disappointed but I got over it. Well guess what? A month later I'm out to dinner with another girl I'm dating and I see her with this other guy at the same restaurant. I was so embarrassed and mad. I hate when people do lame stuff like that. I feel like people walk all over me because I'm nice. "Normally Natasha would have completely ignored Michael but this time she actually listened and his words made her feel awful. She might have ditched him but what she was doing now was worse. Even though Michael was a chatter box he truly was a nice guy and now Natasha was walking all over him. She was on this date not because she was interested in Michael but because she was using him to make Steve jealous. For someone who was trying to get red off of her ledger she was certainly not much progress.

Natasha put down her menu, "Michael I have to be honest with you." Pausing she took a breath before resuming, "I'm not on this date because I like you it's because I want to make Steve jealous. I'm really sorry I've been an awful friend." Sighing Michael might hate her now but at least she wasn't breaking his heart or getting his hopes up.

Much to her surprise Michael smiled. "I know. It's so obvious Natasha. I mean come on anyone can see it. The way you look at him says it all. I knew it all along and I agreed to go out on this date to help you out."

Natasha's mouth fell open. "What?" she gasped. "It's not obvious- what do you mean?!" she sputtered. Surely it wasn't that obvious. As a world renowned spy she was excellent at keeping her feelings in check.

"Yup, I knew it all along," he said with a look of triumph.

Unable to respond Natasha was at a loss for words. How could oblivious Michael notice her feelings toward Steve? She had messed up big time. For all she knew Tony and everyone else was aware of how she felt. Natasha liked to keep her emotions bottled up and now she had been careless. Despite her anger at herself for being so obvious Natasha was relieved and grateful that Michael wasn't angry.

Picking up her menu again, "Now that everything's on the table you have to promise me not to say anything."

"Don't worry, I won't say anything. Could you do me a favor though?" he asked.

Startled at his request Natasha quickly looked up. She hoped his favor wouldn't involve a second date or something in that nature.

"Do you know any girls that happen to be single that you could set me up with," he continued looking very eager.

Natasha relaxed the a little and went back to her menu as she began to think up a list of single girls she knew. Finally she picked the perfect person for Michael. "I know just the person," she smiled. While she was writing down Maria Hill's number on a napkin for Michael she couldn't help but smirk a little.

**Please review and let me know what you think! Thanks for being so patient and for reading my story.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi guys! I know I've been super slow at updating but this story is still going. Please review and let me know what you think. ****I hope you enjoy reading this chapter!**

It was over. Kimberly had broken up with him. He knew it would never last but even so he felt like a part of him had just died. Just like when he found out Peggy was gone.

"I'm sorry Steve but I can't do this anymore," she told him.

"It doesn't have to be this way Kimberly," he begged.

"We're different people with different goals. You're ready to settle down and starts a family but I just want to you know explore everything. I want to travel, party, have fun and do everything while I'm still young."

It was his fault they were over. He might still look not a day over twenty-four but on the inside he was old. He was too old for Kimberly. He was too old for anyone that looked like his age.

He didn't want to just let her go but he knew it was for the best. She was a young girl and he was weighing her down. Maybe next time he'd have better luck with a forty year old that was ready to settle down.

It was his own fault for getting his hopes up too high and now he was going to have to pay the price.

"I'm sorry Steve, I can't be with you. Maybe we weren't just meant to be," she told him.

It was his fault.

This was his first time getting dumped not because he usually ended the relationship but because he could count all his relationships on one hand. The last relationship (with Peggy) wasn't much of a relationship and the only reason it had ended was because he ended up being frozen for decades.

Wondering why love hurt so much he put his head in his hands. Sighing, he couldn't help but think of all the wonderful times he had with Kimberly. Although their relationship was short lived it he had learned a lot of things about women in this decade. He learned they didn't expect him to open doors for them and when he did they were delighted.

As he reminisced about his relationship he remembered the time Kimberly took him ice skating. Blushing he remembered what a fool he had made of himself then. He kept falling and had almost crashed into an elderly couple. Yet Kimberly was determined to teach him how to skate. Even though her attempts were fruitless and he had made a complete fool of himself that's when he had his first kiss with her. She had kissed him right there in front of all those people. Steve had to admit he was a bit shocked that she would kiss him in front everyone. He would have preferred if it was more private but none the less he had been happy.

Thinking about Kimberly's lips, beautiful hair and her gorgeous blue eyes made his heart ache. He forced himself to put her out of his mind.

The next couple of weeks were going to be rough. The worst part was that everyone at work would probably interrogate him endlessly about the demise of his relationship.

No matter what he did for some reason he couldn't just forget about Kimberly. Her words kept somehow floating back to his head.

"I can't do this anymore."

"I'm sorry."

"It's not you it's me."

"You're a great guy and someday you'll find someone who deserves you more than I do."

He wasn't too sure about that anymore. He was seriously considering forgetting about dating, relationships and all that stuff. If this is what being dumped felt like he didn't know who people could go on out there and continue dating.

If Steve thought he was miserable before when he was devastated by the loss of Peggy he was sadly mistaken. Kimberly might have temporarily gotten him out of his depression but now he was right back. Now he was grieving the loss of both Peggy and Kimberly and he didn't think he could ever move on.

* * *

When Natasha found out that Steve had finally broke up with Kimberly she couldn't help but feel a little happy. Natasha felt bad that the break up was causing him so much pain but she was relieved that he was now single. She suggested that Steve go talk to Kimberly to make up. However Steve was adamant that their break up was permanent. He felt sure that Kimberly wanted nothing to do with him anymore.

"It's over," he said with a tortured look on his face. "She broke up with me."

"Why?" asked Tony who made it very obvious that he was interested in the matter. Being the nosy person he was he pestered Steve about his relationship all the time.

"Well, we have different ideals and we couldn't come to a compromise," he muttered.

"What do you mean?" asked Natasha. Even though she could tell Steve didn't really want to talk about it she was curious and that didn't stop her from asking questions.

"Well one day Kimberly asked me about what my stance was on marriage, families, etc... Well I told her that I wanted to someday get married and have children. It turns out she doesn't want to get married until she has her PhD and she doesn't want any kids." Steve knew that there was no way his fantasy romance was going to last forever. Kimberly was a modern girl and he should have known that his old fashion ideals wouldn't exactly work with today's girls.

"I'm sorry Steve." Tony and Natasha said together.

"It wasn't meant to be. At least we broke it off early before we got attached." Based on the look on Steve's face he was obviously still "attached" to Kimberly. "It's my own fault for thinking I could ever get married or have kids."

"Steve it's not your fault and I'm sure you'll find the right girl." Natasha replied.

"Yeah right, I didn't even get around to telling her about what my job really was. Let's face it I'm meant to be a bachelor forever. I might as well just accept it." Steve walked out of the room. The old confidence he gained from Kimberly was nonexistent and now he looked more depressed than ever.

"Poor guy, he looks discouraged," said Tony. "You know I've never been dumped so I don't really know what it feels like but I can tell it's killing him."

"Shut up Tony," snapped Natasha suddenly. She walked away as Tony stared at her wondering what he had said to piss her off.

Steve just sat by himself in an empty room trying to pull himself together. No matter how much he tried to convince himself that Kimberly hadn't really meant that much to him he knew he was only fooling himself.

"Steve…" came the uncertain voice of Natasha. She didn't know whether to just let him be or try and talk to him.

"Oh… Hi Natasha," replied Steve. He didn't seem like he was annoyed by her presence so Natasha decided to talk to him.

"Are you ok?"

Steve nodded absent mindedly.

"I know how you feel. It might be tough at first but I promise it gets better." She said.

Suddenly Steve turned his head towards, "I'm being selfish."

"What?" asked Natasha in surprise as if the notion was ridiculous.

"You broke up with Michael and you haven't been all weepy like me. I should have been more considerate to-"

"Steve, please stop beating yourself up. You're not being selfish you're hurt. Besides I didn't really like that Michael guy that much. I mean he's a nice guy and everything but I didn't feel any emotional attachment it was like hanging out with a friend the entire time." Now Michael was dating Maria Hill after she had given him Maria's number. It turned out that Michael and Maria were the perfect couple.

They both sat in silence for a while.

"Thanks for being such a great friend Natasha. I mean you were the one who set me up with Kimberly and now you're being so supportive."

"You're welcome Steve. You know I'd do anything for you, "smiled Natasha.

**Thanks for reading! Please review. ****Specials thanks to : Jellybelly Puffy Pants :)**


	9. Chapter 9 (new and improved)

**Chapter 9: **

**-This is the new and improve Chapter 9. Thanks for reading!**

Natasha couldn't believe it. Steve was finally single. There was no way she was going to mess this up. Eventually she decided that the best approach would be to just ask Steve to go somewhere with her as friends and see where it would go from there. Since Steve was still very much in the process of grieving over the breakup of his relationship she didn't want to go too fast. At the same time she was paranoid that some other girl would swoop in and take him from her. Last time she had ruined her own chances this time she would not make the same mistake.

A few weeks after Steve had broken up with his girlfriend Natasha decided it was time to take him out. She found him in the gym beating the heck out of a punching bag. He didn't notice her come in and Natasha stood there for a few minutes watching him. Finally she moved in closer and Steve noticed her coming towards him.

"Hey, Natasha. Are you here to work out?" he asked as he wiped the sweat from his face.

"Yeah, I am. You look like you're having a great work out." Natasha always admired his ability to be graceful yet incredibly strong all at the same time. She hoped he hadn't noticed her watching him work out but he gave no indication that he did.

Steve nodded, "I was just finishing up."

"Oh, that's too bad I was hoping we could work out together."

"I'll stay if you want me too," he replied.

Beaming Natasha put down her work out bag. "I was thinking we could spar or something."

Steve immediately looked uncomfortable, "I'd rather we didn't spar I don't feel comfortable hitting a woman."

"Oh come on Steve. This isn't the…" Natasha trailed off. She was about to say "this isn't the 1940's" but she then realized how insensitive it probably was.

There was an awkward silence between the two of them. Deciding it was best to just change the subject Natasha decided to tell him why she was really in the gym.

"Steve, can I ask you something?" asked Natasha. There were a lot of things she wanted to ask him but she figured she should start out slow. Sometimes she wished she could just sit with him for hours and listen to him pour his heart to her. She wanted to know about his childhood, his dreams and everything that was important to him.

For some reason Steve looked very surprised much to Natasha's amusement.

"Don't worry it's nothing awful," laughed Natasha. "I just wanted to know what you were doing this Saturday. Maybe we could do something." Poor Steve living around Tony and Clint had caused him to be accustomed to being asked awkward questions on a daily basis.

Steve relaxed a little, "I'm not doing anything. What do you want to do?" The longer they've gotten to know each other the more comfortable Steve was around her.

"We could you know get some dinner," she replied. Perhaps over dinner she could get him to tell her about his past.

"Yeah, sure that sounds great. I've been pretty lonely lately and…" Steve looked like he was going to say something else but he seemed to change his mind. "This isn't a pity date, is it?" he asked looking concerned.

"Who said anything about this being a date? Of course this isn't a pity date. Geez, can't two lonely friends hang out sometimes?" teased Natasha.

Steve smiled, "Thanks Natasha. Do you want me to pick you at your place?"

"Yeah meet me at my place at six. There's a bunch of restaurants around the area." There were all sorts of restaurants around the area she lived and they were all walking distance.

"Sounds great."

They spent the rest of the afternoon beating up punching bags together and after their work out they went to lunch.

Steve who was normally down in the dumps was happy that he wouldn't spend his Saturday night alone. He usually ended up sitting alone eating take out while listening to sad love songs about heartbreak. Feeling thankful for such a supportive friend he wanted to make sure they both had a great time on Saturday.

* * *

Feeling on top of this world Natasha went to go discuss her latest mission with Clint.

"Why are you smiling so much?" asked Clint in confusion.

"What do you mean?" asked Natasha. Damn she had forgotten that Clint knew her inside and out. If she was mad no matter how much she tried to hide it he always knew. That was one of the cons of having such a perceptive friend they didn't call her "Hawkeye" for nothing.

"You never smile so much. What's going on?" Praying that Clint would somehow not put two and two and together Natasha tried to think up of some excuse for her sudden happiness. Unfortunately nothing came to mind.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Are we going to discuss our upcoming mission or what?" She knew changing the subject was basically admitting to Clint that something was on her mind but she didn't want to be questioned right now.

Clint still looked suspicious but he let the subject drop. The last thing he wanted was to cause tension right before their big mission. "Anyways, I got a new message from Fury telling us that our mission has been re-assigned."

"Re-assigned?" she said confused. They had planned out their Belgium mission for a couple months and now they were getting reassigned?

"Yeah, something came up and now we have an even bigger problem to try and solve."

This didn't sound very good to her but Natasha continued to listen. Usually missions that were urgent required more work and were generally more demanding.

"Instead of being sent to Belgium for a few days we're going to be sent to Thailand for two months."

"TWO MONTHS!?" Natasha nearly yelled. Knowing that she had given herself away she did her best to maintain the little composure she had left.

"Natasha are you ok?" asked Clint with concern. He'd never seen Natasha so upset over a mission. Normally she'd be ecstatic that they were on a bigger and better mission.

Calming herself down, "yes I'm sorry I was just surprised that is all." Cursing herself for over-reacting she did her best to recover. First she came in all happy and now she's shocked over a two month mission. There was no way Clint wouldn't figure out there was something up.

"Are you sure? I mean if you want I could take Steve or someone with me on the mission."

"No, no it's fine. I'll go." There was no way she was dropping out of this and having Steve take her spot. The reason she was so surprised in the first place was because she hadn't been expecting to be away for so long.

Clint still looked very worried about her but he continued to tell her about the mission. He had no idea what had gotten over Natasha. "Well this mission is urgent so we have to leave tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" whispered Natasha in a small voice. She had only one day with Steve before her two month mission. Not only that but it looked like she was going to have to cancel her date with Steve on Saturday.

"Yes, so you better go and get ready. Jarvis has a file for you about who you'll be undercover as."

"Thanks I'll go get ready." The last thing she wanted right now was to leave Steve for two months. She knew she had no choice besides what would she tell the others? Would she tell them that she bailed on an important mission because she didn't want to be away from Steve?

Realizing this might be her last chance to talk to Steve before her two month mission so she went to go find him.

She looked everywhere for him but she couldn't find him. Normally he'd be in the gym or in his room but he was nowhere to be found. Giving up she decided to go into the lab and ask Bruce if he'd seen Steve.

"Hey Bruce, have you see Steve?" she asked as she entered the lab. Even though she had ran into Tony in the hall she didn't bother asking him. Bruce was usually the reliable one and he took things seriously.

Much to her surprise Steve was in the lab with Bruce.

"Looks like you found him Natasha," smiled Bruce as he looked up from his work.

"What do you need me for?" asked Steve.

"I wanted to tell you something – wait why are you in the lab?" she asked. She didn't really think of Steve as a lab rat if anything he was a gym rat.

"I was bored and there was no one to talk to. I wandered in here by mistake and I found Bruce."

That would explain why he was in the lab. "I wanted to talk to you," Natasha replied.

"If you guys want I can leave and give you two privacy," said Bruce as he took off his glasses and placed them in his shirt pocket.

"You can stay here Doc, we're the ones who intruded on your privacy." Natasha felt bad that she was uprooting Bruce from his lab just because she wanted to talk to Steve.

"It's fine, besides I'm glad you guys came. I'm going to go take a lunch break." Bruce left the room leaving Natasha and Steve alone.

"So what did you want to tell me?" asked Steve.

"You know that mission to Belgium I told you about?"

"Yes, what about it?"

"Well I just found out that I've been re-assigned a two month mission in Thailand," she told him. "Well the mission is urgent and we're leaving tomorrow." Watching Steve's facial expression she noticed he seemed a little upset.

"That probably means we won't be meeting up this Saturday," he replied looking down on the floor. He had really been looking forward to getting a chance to catch up with Natasha.

"I'm sorry Steve. I hate to cancel but I have no choice." If she did have a choice she would stay right here with him but rarely did she find that things went her way.

"It's no problem. I understand. Maybe when you get back we can make other plans," he smiled.

Natasha smiled back. At least she'll have something to look forward to when she got back from her two month long mission.

"Good luck on your mission. I wish you and Clint the best," he said rather awkwardly.

"Thank you Steve it means a lot."

**Thanks for reading! Please take the time to review. Review motivate me to continue the story and update more frequently. **


	10. Requested Chapter: Maria HillMichael

**Hello everyone. I know it's a while since I've updated. This is a Maria Hill/Michael bonus chapter that some of you have requested. I apologize in advance but there isn't any Steve/Natasha in this. Never fear chapter 10 is work in progress and should be up soon. Thanks for reading and for the wonderful reviews.**

Feeling nervous Michael called the number on the piece of paper Natasha had given him. She had told him it belonged to her single and attractive friend "Maria Hill". Natasha hadn't said much except that Maria often stared at Steve and that she felt like Maria was lonely. He wondered if Maria looked anything like Maria Sharpova he had always had a thing for blondes.

Maria picked up on the third ring. "Hello, this is Maria Hill speaking."

"Hello, I'm Michael. You're friend Natasha gave me your number and told me to call you."

"Yes?"

"Umm… she told me to call you because you were single and I'm single. You know maybe we could you know… go on a date or something. Didn't Natasha tell you she gave you my number?"

"No, she did not. I don't have time for blind dates. If you interested in a dating service you can go online and make yourself an online dating account."

He was surprised that Natasha never mentioned anything to Maria. "Are you sure Natasha Romanoff never mentioned anything about a guy named Michael? You know she has dark red hair and –"

"I know who she is!" she snapped over the phone. "I don't have time for this." Maria hung up the phone.

A normal guy might feel rejected and most likely get that when a girl hangs up on you she probably doesn't want anything to do with you. For Michael it was the opposite. To him this was a challenge. He was determined to win Maria Hill over.

He decided to call Natasha and tell her how his phone call with Maria went.

"Hello Michael?"

"Hello Natasha, I just called Maria and apparently you never mentioned anything about me."

"I've been really busy lately. I'm sorry. So how did your call go? Do you have a date?"

Michael chuckled, "Not exactly. She hung up on me."

"I'm sorry; Maria can be a bit picky. I have a feeling she has her eye on Steve," replied Natasha.

"No it's fine. I was actually calling to see if you could help me out."

"What do you want me to do?" she asked.

"Where does Maria live?" asked Michael.

"You want to stalk her?"

"No, I just want to convince her that I'm a guy whose worth her time."

"Well I'll text you her address but you better not do anything to awful. I don't want to hear that you broke into her apartment and did something stupid."

"Come on I'm not that stupid."

"Well I have to go Michael. Good luck with your scheme," said Natasha.

"Good bye."

Michael hung up the phone. He had a lot of planning to do if he was going to sweep Maria off her feet.

**Please let me know what you think of this "bonus chapter". Please review! I love reading feedback.**


	11. Chapter 10

**Hello, everyone. Sorry for the late update. Anyways I hope you enjoy this chapter. **

Natasha could not believe it. There always seemed to be some barrier between her and Steve. It was either she was unsure of her feelings, he was taken, or something came up. The latter was the current issue.

Part of her wanted to just run up to Steve and tell him how she really felt. How did she feel about him? She knew she definitely liked him, but how much did she like him. More importantly, if she told him how would it change their friendship? This brought up several other things for her to consider. Let's say she did go up to Steve and confess her feelings to him would it affect their teamwork. Natasha was no idiot. She knew that feelings mixed with work could create a tense environment. Several problems or issues could come up if Natasha told Steve how she felt.

However, she could not wait another minute. Throwing caution to the wind, she quickly went to go find Steve. There was no way she was leaving for a month without telling Steve how she felt. Steve was any girl's perfect guy. He had it all, good looks, charm, and most of his adorable smile. However, Natasha was not any girl and she sure wasn't the type of girl to leave something she wanted lying around. When she wanted something she went after it. She intended to the same thing with Steve.

Natasha searched every room in the building but she couldn't find him. Feeling panicky, she almost considered asking one of the guys if Steve had left. While she was contemplating going over to his apartment and seeing if he was there she heard footsteps behind her.

Much to her surprise, it was Steve behind her.

"Hi Natasha. Are you finished packing for your big mission?"

"Just about," she said catching her breath. She had been certain she had looked in every single room. How did she miss him?

"A months a long time to be away," he said.

"Yes, it is." When Natasha had ran out to go find Steve she hadn't exactly thought of what she wanted to say. Now she was here in front of him and her mind went blank. This wasn't something that happened regualarly to Natasha. This was her last chance to talk to Steve before she leaves early in the morning tomorrow and she was mumbling like a nervous wreck.

Steve seemed a little uncomfortable as he shifted on his feet. "Well… umm. good luck on your mission." He turned to leave and Natasha finally woke up.

"Steve!"

He turned around wondering what caused this sudden outburst.

"We have to talk," she said simply.

Visible confusion was on Steve's face but he obliged.

Natasha took a deep breath to call her nerves. She prayed she would not say something ridiculous and stupid. For the first time she understood how Steve felt. Poor Steve who was always uncomfortable with the ladies. Never in her life had Natasha been this nervous while on the other hand Steve looked completely calm and relaxed.

"Steve, there's something I need to tell you before I go on this mission. I am going to be gone in one month and who knows what could happen in a month. I've wanted to tell you this for a long time but I've withheld it from you," the words were coming out very quickly. It felt great to get such a huge weight off her chest.

"What do you need to tell me?" asked Steve looking interested.

"Well I'm not sure how to tell you this but… I like you Steve. I like you a lot. Not just as a friend. I care about you. I…." Natasha could not continue the look on Steve's face made her stop.

The look on his face was indescribable. It was look of comprehension, surprise and something that Natasha couldn't quite recognize.

Finally he spoke, "You like me- you?" Although his words were rather unintelligible, Natasha understood what he was trying to say. It was clear that he was shocked that she of all people liked him.

Natasha wasn't quite done yet, "I love you Steve. I know it's hard to believe but it's true. I couldn't bear the thought of leaving for a month and not telling you how I felt."

Steve was silent for a long time.

Natasha didn't know what else to do so she kept talking, "I'm sorry if this ruins our friendship or causes some sort of problems-"

Natasha's words were cut off as Steve hugged her. She wondered if this meant he liked her back or if he was trying to get her to shut up.

"When I first met you I had a crush on you but when I saw you with Clint I though you two were an item."

Natasha did not respond she just wanted to stay in Steve's arms for as long as possible until she had to leave tomorrow morning.

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter and the story. This might be the last chapter for now. I think this is a good place to conclude the story. If you want me to continue, write a sequel or write another Steve/Natasha story please review. Also please let me know what you think of this chapter and the story overall. What can I do to improve the story? Thanks for reading this story it has been great reading all your encouraging reviews.**


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